Circuit-controller.



W. C. REED. CIRCUIT CONTROLLER. APPLICATION FILED ocT. 25, 1916! 1 ,272,3 1 7. Patented July 9, 1918.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WALTER C. REED, OF DALTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO THE TELELECTRIC COM- PANY, 0F PITTSFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF MASSACHUSETTS.

CIRCUIT-CONTROLLER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 9, 1918.

Application filed October 25, 1916. Serial No. 127,571.

To all whom it may concern: 7

Be it known that I, WALTER C. REED, ,a citizen of the United States, residing at Dalton, in the county of Berkshire and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new 7 tion is intended to provide a simple, quicklyacting circuit controller which will serve the purpose above'referred to, and is characterized by the employment of two armatures subject to the attraction of the controller magnet, of which one armature serves to open and close the circuit to be controlled, while the other armature restores the circuitcontrolling armature to its normal posit-ion immediately after it has been moved out of such position 'by the attraction of the controller magnet. V

A circuit controller embodying my invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the controller as preferably constructed for the purpose of momentarily opening a normally-closed circuit;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same;

'Fig. 3 is an elevation of the controller illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, as viewed from the left in Fig. 1; and

Fig; 4 is a detail view illustrating a modification whereby the controller may be caused to momentarily close a normally-open circuit.

Referring to Figs. 1, 2 and 3 ofthe drawing, the device therein illustrated comprises a. cylindrical magnet 52 supported in upright position by a base piece 3 and adapted to be included in the operating circuit through terminals 1 and 5 carried by said base piece and connected to the ends of the magnet coil. At its upper end the magnet is provided with a soft-iron disk 6 constituting a pole piece of about the same diameter as the body of the magnet, and to the top of said disk is secured a transverselyextending open frame 7 the ends of which project laterally beyond the magnet in opposite directions. The magnet has two armatures, one of which is shown as consisting of a small soft-iron tube 8 carried by an upright portion of a spring wire 9 secured at its lower end to the base piece 3, with the upper end of said tube located within the frame 7 in position to be attracted by the magnet and carrying a silver contact piece 10 adapted to make contact with a metallic bar 11, which is secured to an insulating block 12 constituting one end of said frame. The circuit to be controlled is represented in part by the wires 13 and 14, which are connected respectively to the bar 11 and to a terminal 15 rest-ing on the lower end of the spring wire 9, the spring action of the latter being such that the piece 10 is normally held in contact with the bar 11, thereby closing said circuit.

\ The other armature 16 of the controller magnet is shown as consisting of a soft-iron bar located on the opposite side of the magnet from the armature 8 and pivoted at its lower end to a fixed support 17, from which it extends upward in position to be attracted by the disk 6 when the controller magnet is energized. To the upper end of the armature 16 is secured a brass strip 18, which eX- tends transversely above the controller magnet towardthe upper end of the armature 8 and is provided at its free end with a striker which, in order that the operation of the device may be noiseless, preferably consists of a felt-covered roll 19 carried by the downwardly-bent end portions of the strip 18. The armature 16 has a greater mass than the armature 8, and its upper end is normally held by means of a spring 20 against a felt-covered stop 21 carried by the frame 7, in which position the striker 19 is separated from the upper end of the armature 8 by a distance slightly less than the distance between the disk 6 and the armature 16, the operation of the parts above described being as follows:

When the magnet 2 is energized the armatures 8 and 16 move toward the disk 6, and the first result of such movement is to open the normally-closed circuit through the wires 13 and 14. Immediately thereafter, however, the striker 19 engages the and therefore overpowers the latter armature and forces it back into its normal position. Consequently the circuit which has just been opened is immediately closed again and is kept closed by the preponderant effect of the armature 16 so long as the magthe contact piece 10 is held in contact with the bar 11.

In the modification illustrated in Fig. 4 the parts are constructed and operate as already described except that the upper end of the armature 8 normally rests against a non-conducting stop, which may consist of the block 12, and the contact bar 11 is attached to the under side of the block 12 and shaped to extend around the upper end of the armature 8 into position to be engaged by the contact piece 10 on said armature when the latter is attracted by the magnet. When this form of the device is employed the circuit to be controlled will be normally open but will be momen-' tarily closed when the magnet is energized. While the specific device above described is simple and inexpensive in construction,

acts very rapidly and is not likely to get out of order, it is to be understood that it may be modified in various ways without departing from my invention. For example, the invention is not limited to the employment of a single circuit-controlling armature nor to any particular construction of such armature or ,armatures, and al-- though a single magnet is preferably employed for attracting the armatures, it will be evident that this is not essential, provided the armatures are attracted at the No. claim is made herein, broadly, to the employment in a circuit controller of an armature which is carried by a spring wire included in the circuit to be controlled, as such a construction forms a part o'fthe subject matter of a copending application.

' I claim:

1. A circuit controller comprising an electro-magnet provided with an armature ar ranged to open and close the circuit to be controlled and with another armature subject to a greater attractive force than the first-mentioned armature and having means for engaging the latter and forcing it away from the magnet in opposition to the attraction exerted'thereby.

2. A circuit controller comprising an electro-magnet' having two armatures subject to simultaneous attraction thereby, one of' Said armatures being heavier than the other, means controlled by the lighter armature for opening and closing an electric circuit,

and means carried by the heavier armature for engaging the lighter armature and forcing it away from the magnet in opposition to the attraction exerted thereby.

3. A circuit controller comprising an electro-magnet having two armatures located on opposite sides of its pole and subject to simultaneous attraction thereby, one of said armatures being heavier than the other, springs normally holding said armatures away from the pole of thejmagnet, means controlled by the lighter armature for opening and closing "an electric circuit, and a striker carried by the heavier armature in position to engage the lighter armature and move it into its normal position in opposition to the attraction thereon.

Signed by me at Boston, Massachusetts, this seventeenth day of October, 1916.

WALTER C. REED. 

